Ronan arrived in front of the third archway right as a gangly green leg was poking out. Rather than wait for the shaman to make its own entrance, he grabbed it by the ankle and ripped it out of the portal.

That clearly wasn't supposed to happen, because he heard a strange screeching and saw the portal in the archway ripple and bubble as the lanky figure of the goblin was yanked out. Its skin had a pale green tinge, lighter than normal.

It coughed, spitting out some blood as it appeared. Honestly Ronan didn't give a damn what had happened, all he wanted was to put it down.

He grabbed the back of its head and then yanked its staff from its grip. He let the bone shaft slide through his hands until he was holding it right below the thick joint at the end.

Then like clapping two cymbals together, he smashed the shaman's head against the end of the staff. The first strike shattered its nose and sprayed blood everywhere.

Squelch.

The second strike split open its skull and sent brain matter splashing onto Ronan. The third ended its life. The corpse of the shaman fell limply in his hands before he dropped it to the ground.

The kill notification didn't interrupt him, simply joining the others for him to read over once he was done. He preferred it this way since he had discovered it was possible, rather than having the endless chime in his ears during battle.

While this had happened, Keith managed to entangle himself with the second goblin warrior to appear. However, he wasn't doing great as an archer was firing arrows towards him from the back of the dungeon.

With the shaman dead, Ronan was free to go wild—at least until the second one was preparing to spawn. With a happy chuckle, he raced towards that archer before it noticed him.

His goal this time was to train his magic strike, but he didn't have the freedom to use his mana without restraint yet. Besides, he wanted to save it for the second shaman and potentially… the fleshbeast.

Ronan reached the archer in a few steps. It wailed when it noticed him, reaching for its dagger. However, it got tangled in the string of its own bow and was powerless to resist.

He delivered a swift kick followed by a wild haymaker that splattered its head against the wall. Then, at that moment the portal flashed and the third archer walked out.

The rest of the battle flashed by in similar fashion. Keith held his own fairly well, managing to take down two of the lesser goblin warriors by himself while Ronan dealt with the rest of the goblins.

When he noticed that the glowing staff was almost full once again Ronan marched over to the gate. However, this time he didn't immediately kill the shaman.

It stepped out, a confident leer on its face until it noticed the corpses of its kin sprawled across the room. It snarled, levelling Ronan with an icy glare. It was rewarded with a vicious kick to the gut and a smack to the jaw that sent a couple of yellow teeth clattering across the stone tiles.

For the first time Ronan felt the effects of not investing into strength. The shaman wiped blood from its chin, but it grinned while standing tall.

His strikes had drawn first blood but had failed to deal meaningful damage to the monster. Despite the minor setback, Ronan wasn't worried. The shaman staying alive was part of his plans.

"Quickly, kill it! Before it does something. That tall bastard looks scary as hell," Keith suddenly yelled from behind, rushing towards Ronan and the shaman.

Ronan cursed and turned around. Before Keith could do something stupid he crashed into the guy and gently slammed him against the wall.

"Stay here, I'm trying to help us. You'll get more experience, just trust me," he snapped before turning back to the shaman.

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As predicted, the monster had raised its bone staff into the air and was muttering an unintelligible string of syllables. No curses landed when it finished chanting, but Ronan spotted the corpses on the ground being dragged towards the shaman.

Wait, I didn't leave any of the goblins alive. Last time, it used one of the archers or warriors to form the fleshbeast. Will it fail? he wondered. No, it seems it plans to use itself. How terrifyingly bold. Only…

Ronan's stomach lurched for a moment. He wasn't scared of the shaman or the fleshbeasts, but the first two times they'd been around level 15. He had been able to kill the second one in a single magic strike.

If the shaman used its own body… Then the abomination it was about to create would possibly be too powerful for him to bring down. Especially without investing in his stats.

Ronan hurriedly pulled up the kill notifications while the shaman continued to work its vile voodoo. He wanted more mana to earn his mastery, but he also needed enough power to effectively damage the monster.

You have killed [Lesser Goblin Warrior Lv.5-9]x3, [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.6-10]x5, [Goblin Shaman Lv.10]!

Experience has been split among your party members!

Party Experience Bonus has been applied!

+61 Copper Credits

+4 [Pugilist I] Mastery

+1 [Pain] Mastery

+Lesser Goblin Ears (Common) x8

+Rusty Spear Lv.9 (Common)

+Wooden Bow Lv.8 (Common)

You have leveled up to Lv.4!

You have leveled up to Lv.5!

You have leveled up to Lv.6!

You have leveled up to Lv.7!

You have leveled up to Lv.8!

You have leveled up to Lv.9!

You have been restored x6!

+6 Vitality

+6 Endurance

+6 Free Stat Points

That was more levels than he'd been expecting. It was more than he should have earned. Ronan now knew that his heritage was definitely giving him a boost. That it states my previous level must be significant, he realised.

Ronan didn't have much time to think about how to distribute the stats, unfortunately. The first of the corpses had already reached the shaman's body and it had begun to wail and screech as the flesh melted and bonded to its own.

He didn't want to watch the hideous process, so he turned back to his own thoughts. He needed more mana, but also enough strength to deliver a powerful blow in the first place. Speed wasn't that important against the lumbering fleshbeasts.

When he'd struck the shaman, it had taken damage but wasn't killed in a few blows like the lesser goblins. He needed a bit more strength, but not too much.

Keeping it simple, Ronan decided to just split his free stat points equally between strength and wisdom. That gave him 30 more points of mana and enough of a power boost to kill the fleshbeast.

He immediately felt his muscles itching and swelling, before settling. Clenching and opening his fist, he grinned. Increasing his stats was always a great sensation.

At that moment he heard a hideous roar and a loud thudding squelch. Looking upwards he realised that the shaman had completely transformed. In its place was a monstrous abomination of corpses, bones, and magic.

Pustules and warts covered its body and there were a dozen mouths, ears, and eyes in irregular places. Keith threw up, but managed to stay on his feet while edging away.

Ronan clenched his fist once more and took a step towards the beast. They were too damn slow. He had plenty of mana and despite its level, he was confident in his chances of victory.

[Zombified Goblin Fleshbeast Lv.23]

For its monolithic size, the putrid flesh squashed against the ceiling, the fleshbeast was quick. However, compared to Ronan and even Keith it was like the tortoise and the hare. He crossed the distance in a few short strides.

As he ran he was already gathering mana, the crackly tingling in his heart amplifying with every step. Until now he'd focused on control, but this time Ronan needed explosive power.

Even though the shaft was weak and the tip rusted, he pulled the spear from his inventory and gripped it in both hands. Magic strike amplified his physical damage and against this opponent a spear was a perfect weapon.

The sacs of acid were deadly and keeping his distance was vital. Ronan arrived in front of the flesh beast, his arm feeling like it was held above a fire with the raging mana held inside.

With a roar he planted his feet in the ground and drove the spear up and into the sagging rolls of fat. The tip pierced through the skin with ease, tearing through flesh like tofu.

Ronan was able to stab the spear about half a metre into the monster's body before it smacked against bone. His arms jolted and tingled simultaneously.

A foul mixture of acid, blood, and pus spewed from the wound. His mana exploded out of the speartip. He narrowed his eyes and focused.

Against this creature, a narrow cone wouldn't be effective. It simply had too much bulk. Losing a little flesh and blood was far from enough to bring it down.

However, Ronan didn't think a wild wave of mana would do the trick either. He needed a different approach. He'd come up with an idea before thrusting his spear. It was time to see if those 2 points of intelligence had made a difference.

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